Google bought video conferencing software from Sweden’s Marratech. Just to clarify, they bought the software product, not the company itself.
Marratech technology comes from research at the Centre for Distance-Spanning Technology (CDT) at Luleae University of Technology. It was initially developed for distance learning but turned into e-meeting and web collaboration software.
The deal “will enable from-the-desktop participation for Googlers in videoconference meetings wherever there’s an Internet connection,” notes Douglas Merrill, VP engineering. “It will be used in combination with our current video-conferencing equipment.
If Google offers this as a free service, this could hit Cisco (who just acquired WebEx), Microsoft LiveMeeting and Adobe Connect.
For more info, go to Google Blog on Marratech.